The weather is beautiful; it must be about time for county and state fairs and all the vendors that go along with all the hoopla. Some of these vendors sell live animals to the fair goers. An example of a live animal sold at the fair would be the hermit crab. It is the worst possible time to buy an animal and it sure isnít reasonable or healthy to the animal being stuck in the heat at the fairgrounds all day long.

More and more county fairs are not allowing vendors to sell animals; however there are still plenty out there that do. I am not going to rehash my experience with hermit crabs and the state fair. If you are interested in reading the article here it is. Hermit Crab Vendors

I am not referring to the farm animals that are sold by 4-H or FFA. I am referring to little animals that sit in glass aquariums all day roasting, or perhaps the goldfish that get bopped on the head with tennis balls.

But, mostly it is the hermit crabs. If your child should come home with a hermit crab please find out how to care for the little hermie immediately. Hermieís make wonderful pets however, they need care, care that no other animal requires. Please refer to my hermit crab care articles.

How to care for the hermit crabHermit Crabs (first half)
Hermit crab habitat
Substrate for hermit crabs
Water for the hermit crab
Temperature and humidity both crucial for these exotic pets
Use of ocean salt Ė never use iodized salt

This is the second part of the Hermit Crab articleHermit Crabs Part Two (second half)
Bringing the hermit crab home
Hermit crab food
The need for quarantine enclosure
Bacteria and sanitation
Household dangers
Ocean Water
Molting hermit crabs - hermit crab molting is very stressful
Shells and more!

I hope that this year I am clear that the hermie article has two parts. Taking care of these little exotic pet hermit crabs takes a tremendous amount of knowledge and the first article just ran too long. I hear from more hermit crab people than anyone else, because they donít take the time to read the second half of the article. I also hear from them because they deeply care for their little pets and I have a great deal of respect for hermit crab people that take the time to correct me. I welcome any corrections or advice from any knowledgeable exotic pet people!!

Here are a couple of hermit crab factsDid you know that a pet hermit crab can live in captivity for 20 or more years but few live past a few months?
The hermit crab must return to the ocean to deposit her eggs. Hermit crabs cannot be bred in captivity.
Even though the hermit crab lives on land they breathe through their gills, moisture is extremely important.

A great deal is being learned about these little animals. It wasnít long ago we failed to realize they needed ocean salt water as well as fresh water. Although, to my knowledge no one has ever been able to captive breed these crabs. This means they are still being farmed from the wild. We canít continue to do this.

The shells that hermit crabs depend on are harvested from the tidal pools and ocean-sides; harvested to the point of depletion. I witnessed myself, little hermit crabs using soda pop tops as shells.

What is the answer for an animal that canít be bred in captivity? Shells that captive hermit crabs need to replace their outgrown shells, what is the answer to harvesting from nature?

One solution to owning a pet hermit crab, adopt a hermit crab, there are hermit crab rescues, and the perfect answer to owning a pet hermit crab is hermit crab adoption from a hermit crab rescue. To find hermit crabs to adopt, just Google hermit crab rescues or hermit crab adoption.

Amazon has a 24-hour cookie. So, if you follow my link today, and then decide to think about the purchase the link will expire in 24 hours. By all means think about your purchase but please go back through my link so that I get credit.

Land Hermit Crabs [Paperback] an excellent book for especially a child to learn about hermit crab care.Land Hermit Crabs

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